


The Protector (Scenes From An Action Mover!)

by ItsaVikingThing



Series: Korrasami Month 2018 [5]
Category: Avatar: Legend of Korra
Genre: A multi-chap because why not?, And some action scenes, Buddy Cop AU, F/F, Korrasami Month 2018, Modern AU, Prompt:Fire, Prompts: Witness Protection, There may be a trope or two
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-16
Updated: 2019-02-27
Packaged: 2019-09-20 13:35:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 10,638
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17023557
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ItsaVikingThing/pseuds/ItsaVikingThing
Summary: Two of Republic City's finest cops, Detectives Korra and Mako, just got handed the toughest assignment of their lives: protect the key witness in the case to bring down Amon, the city's terrifyingly mysterious crime boss.All they need to do is keep their witness alive for one night and get them to the court to give testimony.Korra's about to find out the hard way that when you have the whole of Republic City's underworld and a slew of corrupt cops gunning for you, there aren't many safe places to hide, and there's no one you can trust.Unless it's the unlikely saviour who appears on a motorbike to bail the detectives out when they're over their heads.Trusting her might not be the worst mistake Korra could make. No, Korra might just fall in love, too...and that would be the biggest mistake of all.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Eh. Let's have some barely edited fun...

“Let me see if I can understand this…” Chief Lin Beifong glares at what are, unfortunately, her two best detectives. 

Mako at least has the decency to look chagrined. Even his normally product-heightened hair is drooping, and the soot on his face and the rips in his plain clothes add to his air of dejection.

Korra’s clothes are even more torn, her hair is singed, there’s soot _everywhere_ , but she’s sitting bolt upright in her seat, her arms folded, wearing a scowl on her face.

“You two had a warrant for the arrest of Lightning Bolt Zolt. Your surveillance had led you to believe he was in a triad safehouse in the Drains. You kicked down the door--”

“Chief?” Mako raises his hand. “I know it looks...pretty bad, but--”

“Pretty bad?” Lin intensifies her glare, making Mako wilt back into his seat. “You were sent to arrest one man in a private residence and you somehow blew up a toy factory! _On the other side of the city_!”

Korra clears her throat. “In our defence, that factory was a triad front, chief. And _we_ weren’t the ones using a flamethrower near all those propane tanks!”

“We, uh, maybe did start the fire in the break room, though,” Mako mutters. “Didn’t we, _partner_?”

“Oh, I’m sorry, Mako. Are you complaining that I used the exploding microwave trick to save you from the triads with machine guns?”

“Well, no, but it _was_ a working toy factory, and any fire--”

“It was a working triad front!”

“Enough!” Lin switches her glare to Korra. “And the dentist’s office? Was that a triad front?”

Korra winces. “Uh…”

“Chief, the thing is,” Mako ventures, “while we were in pursuit, there was this...bus...incident. And we had to make a decision, so in order to cause the, uh, minimum damage--”

“ _So_ you drove a city vehicle through a dentist’s office?”

Korra perks up. “Well, actually we’d had to ditch _our_ car, because all the grenades Zolt threw at us completely _wrecked_ it. So it was a commandeered civilian vehicle we drove through the dentist’s office!” Korra looks at Lin’s expression and swallows. “Which…isn’t...better?”

“No, Korra,” Lin snaps, “that _is not_ better!”

“Wow, I guess there’s just more clouds in your clouds today,” Korra mutters, quietly enough that Lin can choose to pretend she didn’t hear her.

Lin shakes her head. “You were supposed to bring one triad boss into custody. Instead, you caused chaos over half the city, endangered lives, destroyed _three separate structures_ , and on top of that--”

Korra scoffs. “Are we really counting a steamed bun food truck as a structure?”

“Four structures, then,” Lin says in her iciest tones. “I was thinking about Bao’s Bagel Emporium. Which was thankfully not open when it got chewed to pieces by machine gun fire. And which is where I’ve gone for Sunday lunch with Kya for the last. Ten. Years.”

“Oooooh.” Korra slumps. She begins to chew her lip nervously. “And how _is_ your amazing wife, Chief? It’s been ages since she visited--”

Lin slams her hand on her desk. “I should take your badges right now. I still might take your guns, for the safety of everyone in the city, you two idiots included.”

Mako raises his head. “We’re not suspended?”

“You would be,” Lin assures him. “But you did bring Zolt in. And I have an assignment I need someone I can trust to handle. Which sadly means that as soon as you get changed, you’re up again.”

“Doing...what?” Korra asks warily.

“Spirits help us all.” Lin sighs. “Witness protection.”

* * *

Mako gapes in disbelief through the one way mirror into the interview room. He immediately recognises the big man with dyed black hair who sits in impassive silence with his hands palm up on the table. “Wait, what? Hiroshi _Sato_? Why are we...did he witness a murder, or…? He’s the city’s leading industrialist! And Influence Magazine’s Most Influential Influencer three years running!”

“Nerd,” Korra whispers into his ear. He flicks her a glare, but Korra just smirks at him and turns to the Chief. “What _is_ the story?”

“One of the classics,” Chief Beifong drawls. “Corruption. Ties to organised crime. Illegal arms trading, jury tampering, witness tampering, fraud, and conspiracy.”

Mako’s heart sinks. He’ll need to take his Most Influential Influencer of the Year posters down. “Conspiracy to commit what?”

“Everything. He was in bed with Amon, until he decided he liked the sound of an immunity deal.”

Mako automatically puts his hand on Korra’s shoulder. She stiffens beside him, her smirk gone, her wide blue eyes wider still with shock. “Amon? Amon who runs every gang in this city Amon? Amon who takes a piece of every criminal endeavour in this city or cuts the would be crooks to pieces Amon? Amon who...who killed Korra’s grandfather Aang? Republic City’s greatest cop? _That_ Amon?”

“Yes. That Amon.” Chief Beifong sighs. “Hiroshi knows the man behind the mask. He can give us Amon’s identity, give us what we need to put Amon away, and bring his whole empire down with him. _If_ he’s able testify before a grand jury tomorrow. Which is where you two come in. We all know that Amon has people inside the RCPD. And I know that you two are maybe the only cops in the city I can trust with something this big. If we leave him here overnight, he won’t be breathing in the morning.”

Mako wishes that wasn’t true, but he knows how widespread Amon’s influence is. He squeezes Korra’s shoulder. She shakes herself and steps away, breaking their physical contact, but she shoots him a grateful look.

“What’s the plan, Chief?” Korra’s voice is steady, barely any of the turmoil she must be feeling making it into her tone. “Because, yeah, we’re doing this.”

That gets them one of the Chief’s rare smiles out of her. “Good. Now, all I need you to do is take him to this safe house.” Lin passes Mako a piece of folded over paper. “And lay low until tomorrow. Then bring him to the High Court for noon. Understood?”

“Understood.” Mako glances at Korra. “Sounds simple enough, right?”

* * *

“Oh, yes! _So_ simple, Mako!” Korra snaps, trying not to flinch as bullets thud into the body of the armoured SUV Chief Beifong entrusted to their care. “You had to jinx it!”

The good news is, they aren’t dead. The bad news is, there are two cars full of triad shooters chasing them through downtown Republic City and they’re only five minutes out of the precinct.

Mako’s driving. Hiroshi has squeezed himself into the footwell of the rear seat. Korra is clutching her pistol and trying to come up with a plan.

Mako swerves into the side of one of the triad cars, forcing it off the road and into a lamppost. He yelps when a truck comes barreling out of an intersection right in front of them. Korra grabs the wheel and yanks it to the right, turning their SUV just enough to get their nose past the truck, whose driver slams on their breaks. Korra lets go. Cursing, Mako jerks at the wheel, getting the car back onto the right side of the road before they can collide with anything.

Korra cranes her head around and looks back. Behind them, the truck has blocked the road, giving them some breathing room.

“Make a turn, Mako.”

“Where?”

“Anywhere! We need to lose them!”

Mako makes a screeching turn into a side street, clamps his foot on the accelerator, tears through that street onto a main road, cuts across two lanes of traffic into an alleyway so narrow it claims one of their wing mirrors in a shower of sparks before they escape it, and turns onto another main street, where he slows to a less reckless pace. “Happy?”

“Thrilled!”

“And don’t blame me for this! Is it more likely we’re being chased because of a jinx or because of the orchestrated efforts of the most powerful and notorious criminal in the city trying to prevent his whole empire going up in smoke?”

“Well, when you put it that way… _of course it’s the jinx, you idiot_!”

Behind them, Hiroshi clears his throat. “May I--”

“NO!” they snap in unison.

Korra looks at Mako, who glances at her, and snorts. They both laugh.

Korra checks the rearview mirror. “Mr Sato? Please just lay low for now, okay? And Mako?”

“Yeah?”

“That was some good driving.”

“Thanks, partner. Yeah, I think we’re in the clear for--”

With a roar, a pickup truck zooms around a corner behind them. In the bed of the pickup truck is a man holding what looks suspiciously like an RPG. Another two men are carrying spare rockets and an assault rifle respectively.

Korra gapes at Mako. “You...you jinxed us _again_? What is _wrong_ with you?”

Mako clenches his jaw. “Hold on, this is going to get...oh, no!”

Another pair of trucks pull in behind the first one. Each truck is similarly loaded with men and firepower.

“Spirits!” Korra looks at her pistol. She looks at Mako. Korra takes a few deep breaths, disengages the safety on her pistol and unbuckles her seatbelt. She grabs the door handle and gets ready to open up and open fire. “Okay, partner! Now would be the time for some really fancy driving!”

Which is when she sees the motorbike speeding towards them, weaving effortlessly through the oncoming traffic. A slim figure in red and black leathers and matching helmet with a tinted visor controls the powerful bike with ease. Korra blinks. It appears as though the bike rider has a quiver of arrows strapped to the front of their bike. And, as Korra watches, they reach down with one hand and take what looks like some kind of bow from the side of their bike.

“Mako?” Korra squeaks. “Look out for the, uh, archer?”

Mako curses again, but there’s little room for manoeuver in the busy streets. Behind them, the lead truck is closing in, and the man with the RPG is lining up a shot.

In front of them...the bike rider swerves, avoiding Mako and Korra’s vehicle. Korra whips her head around to watch as they straighten their bike out. Then they raise their bow, pluck an arrow from the quiver and, as Korra watches in disbelief, they sit up, taking their hands from the handlebars. In a stunning display of balance, timing, and agility, the slim figure nocks the arrow, draws the bowstring taut, and releases, before sinking down and grasping the handlebars again.

Korra turns, staring over the seatback. The rider zooms past the trucks, swerving to avoid them. The arrow...Korra gasps. _Her_ arrow--because even under the leathers she was definitely a woman--has punched through the grill of the truck and apparently hit something vital in the engine, because the truck slows, lurches drunkenly across the road, slams into another car with a bone-rattling _crash_ , and comes to abrupt halt, pitching the men in the back onto the concrete.

Dazedly, Mako asks, “What...just happened?”

“We have a guardian angel!” 

Korra grins, throws open her door and swings out to face one of the trucks. She aims her pistol at the tires and squeezes the trigger three times. The tire pops, and the truck slews back and forth across the road as the driver tries to compensate. The RPG that was about to be fired at them shrieks across the street in the direction of the sidewalk, where it hits what appears to be a vegetarian hot dog stand. The people around the stand scatter and take cover just before the grenade detonates, sending the stand flying into the air and raining buns and dogs down on the people taking cover on the street.

Before Korra ducks back into the car and Mako squeezes them through a gap between an SUV and a panel van, Korra thinks she sees the hot dog stand’s owner clutching his hair and hears him yell, “My cabbage dogs!”

For a few seconds, they get to breathe. Then the last truck comes back into view behind them. Korra can’t help but grin when she sees the biker archer appear behind the triads, readying her bow. “Guardian angel, and maybe future wife!”

* * *

From his cramped position in the footwell, Hiroshi listens to the chorus of gunfire, explosions, yells and honking horns. He suffers through every violent turn, through every one of the many, many impacts on the body of their vehicle, until there is only the increasingly laboured sound of their car’s engine and the defiant roar of the perfectly calibrated Future Industries Satocycle engine pursuing them.

“Okay, that was my jinx this time,” he hears Korra admit. “She maybe possibly _might_ not be a guardian angel.”

Another arrow punches through the rear window, piercing the armoured glass, hissing over Hiroshi’s huddled body and slamming into the console between detectives Korra and Mako.

“No, you think?” Mako growls. “Wait, does that mean you’re still considering the _marriage_ part?”

Hiroshi watches Korra check her belt until she finds what appears to be her last full clip of ammunition and load it into her pistol. “I mean, whoever she is, she just shot an arrow through bulletproof glass while riding a motorbike! And she saved our lives! Twice! If she doesn’t kill us, I’d like to at least offer to buy her dinner!”

Hiroshi grimaces. He would prefer it if the detectives accorded him and the _extremely_ dangerous person following them greater respect. But then, he would prefer never to have got into this mess in the first place. And given why he did...he needs to do _something_ , before detective Korra starts shooting. Even from his limited perspective, he can tell that the young woman is both remarkably determined and a very impressive shot.

“I think you’re going to get shot down if you ask her, Korra.” An arrow thumps into the back of the car, punching through the armoured metal, but at least not penetrating the boot. Mako yelps. “How _is_ she getting _arrows_ through our armour?”

Having weighed the matter, Hiroshi decides to speak up, “I’d wager that she’s firing bodkin arrowheads, tipped with titanium, from a recurved bow.”

Silence follows that declaration.

After a few seconds, Korra says, “You know who’s after us, don’t you, Mr Sato?”

He sighs. “I believe I do. I fear it is Asami. Asami...Sato. My daughter.”

“Your _daughter_? Oh, I, uh, haha! Was totally joking about the marriage thing, ah...”

Mako snaps, “Korra! Focus. Mr Sato, why is your daughter trying to kill us?”

“I don’t think she is,” Korra murmurs. “I think if she had wanted to, she could have done it. Or just let the triads do it.”

Hiroshi weighs his options, realises that he doesn’t have any, and reluctantly admits the truth. “She isn’t trying to kill me. It’s Amon she wants…”

* * *

As crashes go, it’s a good one. Mako gets the car wedged about halfway up an alley, which has the disadvantage of trapping them, but the advantage of blocking Asami’s pursuit on her bike. Even over the sound of Korra and Mako’s boots kicking out the front windshield, and the grinding hum of the SUV’s still labouring engine, Korra can hear the sound of Asami’s bike dwindling from a roar to a purr, then cutting out entirely.

The rear window is still more or less in place, but it’s webbed with cracks from Asami’s arrows and won’t provide much of a barrier for her. When the windshield frame breaks and tumbles over the hood into the alley, Mako scrambles out of the car. Korra grabs Hiroshi and encourages him to follow Mako, who leans back in to help him.

Mako curses Hiroshi’s clumsiness when his foot catches on the wheel. “Come on, come on! We have to move!”

Behind her, Korra hears something hit the rear window, which creaks and bends inwards. Korra takes a deep breath. She ducks Hiroshi’s foot as he flails to find purchase, meets Mako’s eye over the top of Hiroshi’s squirming butt and says, “Go. I’ll buy you time.”

Hiroshi gasps, “No! You can’t...please, don’t hurt my daughter!”

Mako opens his mouth, but before he can get any words out, a woman’s voice says, “Father? Father, you need to tell me where he is. That’s the only way this ends, father.”

Something hits the rear window, which buckles, spilling chips of glass into the car.

Korra puts her foot on Hiroshi’s ass and shoves with all her might. “GO!”

Hiroshi slides and slithers over the hood with a squawk, but Mako grabs him before he can fall. Korra’s pretty sure she doesn’t have time to follow them out, so she grabs the seat control and cranks her chair flat.

Just before something plunges _through_ the window, two inches to the left of where Korra’s head had been. She blinks at the something. “Oh, good...bow lady has a sword, too…”

Asami yanks her sword out of the car, taking most of the window with it. Mako shoves Hiroshi down and goes for his gun, but something hisses through the air over Korra’s head, passing through the interior of the car, and slams into Mako’s chest, making him stagger back and drop his gun.

Hiroshi raises his head and gasps. Behind Korra, a soft but icy voice says, “Hello, father. I’d like you to tell me where to find Amon now.”

Korra blinks in disbelief. Asami threw her _helmet_ through the _car_. “Mako! Get him out of here!”

The rear suspension of the SUV rocks back as Asami starts climbing onto the vehicle. Korra narrows her eyes. She scoots over to the console, listening as Asami’s footsteps reverberate through the vehicle as she walks across the roof.

Korra waits, then slams the button on the dash that makes the sunroof slide back. Asami gracefully hops over the gap, but Korra lunges upright and grabs her ankles. There’s a frozen fraction of a second where Korra looks up and sees Asami turning, looking back at her, and Korra can see her long black hair whipping out, her pale green eyes widening, her red, red lips parting, the point of her sword moving snakelike to aim at Korra’s heart…

It’s not the best angle, and it’s only for a single instant, but Korra’s pretty sure she’s never seen anyone more beautiful in her entire life. She’s also pretty sure that she’s about to die, because the shock of Asami’s beauty robs Korra of her wits for more than long enough for Asami to run her through.

Asami doesn’t run her through. She hesitates.

Korra recovers her senses and yanks on Asami’s ankles.

In theory, what’s _supposed_ to happen is that Asami’s supposed to lose her balance and fall onto the hood. Theoretically, she’d be dazed, rattled, might even lose her sword, and Korra could move in and subdue her.

What _happens_ , though, is Asami tosses her sword, and hops back into the empty air above the sunroof, just as Korra tugs. Which means that instead of yanking Asami’s feet out from under her, Korra yanks Asami into the SUV on top of her, Asami’s back to Korra’s front.

Korra gasps in surprise and then in pain when Asami’s weight lands on her. Long before Korra can get her hands back into play, Asami somehow manages to twist around and deliver an elbow to the side of Korra’s head. It’s a decent blow, considering how cramped they are, which is to say, it snaps Korra out of her shock, feeds some fresh adrenaline into her system, and makes her grin fiercely into the cloud of perfumed hair Korra’s face is suddenly surrounded by.

“Is that jasmine? It’s nice!” Korra wraps a hand around Asami’s knee, hooks an ankle around the other woman’s. She gets her other hand ready for Asami’s next elbow. “Don’t suppose you’ll come quietly?”

"You smell like...smoke?" Asami snaps her head back, trying to butt Korra’s nose, which Korra decides to take as Asami's answer. 

Korra turns her head and pushes it into the back of Asami’s. She levers with her foot and her hand, and rolls Asami face first onto the passenger seat. Korra keeps a leg hooked around Asami’s as she reaches for her cuffs.

Asami writhes round, kicks out and stamps her foot on the SUV’s accelerator. The SUV is wedged in tightly enough that it isn’t going anywhere, but not so tightly that it doesn’t try, shuddering and scraping further into the alley another few inches. The motion throws Korra off balance, landing her in the driver’s seat. She scrambles upright, barely in time to avoid a jab from Asami.

Korra ducks her head, which gets her out of the way of the jab, but puts her in range of Asami’s knee. She brings her arms down, blocking, then twists upright, raising her arms to protect her head from further punches. But it turns out that Asami has made a study of grappling, too, and instead of punching, she grabs Korra’s right wrist and elbow and yanks her arm out, locking her joint and leaving Korra with the side of her head smooshed against the wheel.

“‘Oo ‘eady to surrender?” Korra mumbles as best she can. She looks round, straight into Asami Sato’s eyes and, yep, still the most beautiful face she’s ever seen. There’s no anger in her eyes, either, just determination. “Plea’?” Korra adds, trying to smile winningly.

Asami seems to waver, some of the steel leaving her face. Her grip on Korra’s arm doesn’t loosen. “I can’t,” she says softly. “For what it’s worth, I’m sorry for the pain I’ve caused you and your partner. But my father can’t be trusted. And we both know there’s only one way to stop a creature like Amon. I intend to turn myself in when it’s done, detective. You have my word."

Korra swallows, keenly aware that she’s currently drooling on the steering wheel. She twists her neck painfully so she can say, with greater clarity, “My name is Korra, Asami. And I’m sorry, too.”

Asami frowns, then gasps when she feels one end of Korra’s cuffs click closed around her ankle. “What are you doing?”

“Slowing you down, juuuuust enough.” Korra tries another grin. “Because guess whose wrist the other end’s on?”

Asami turns her head to look out the window to confirm what Korra already knows.

Mako and Hiroshi are gone.

Korra clears her throat. “So...what now?”


	2. Chapter 2

Thirty uncomfortable seconds later Korra's question is answered, but not by Asami. From her position squashed against the wheel, with one arm cuffed to Asami's ankle and the other a few more pounds of torque from being broken in Asami's hands, Korra doesn't have much to do but listen. Mostly, Korra is listening to Asami asking her where Mako is taking Hiroshi, but she also hears the sound of an engine idling, and the sound of booted feet crunching on glass coming from behind them.

"Shh!" Korra hisses. "I can hear--"

Asami tugs on Korra's arm and pushes her down underneath the dash. Asami herself lays on her back as flat as she can on the lowered passenger seat. Korra looks up at Asami's face. Asami's eyes are on the rearview mirror.

After a tense couple of seconds, a mocking voice says, "Korraaaa? You there? There's been so much chatter on the radio about you. You look like you're in a jam, Korra."

Korra groans. Asami flicks a glance at her. "Tahno. He's a cop. SWAT. He's a real jerk. And, uh, I think he maybe possibly _might_ be on the take."

Tahno chuckles. "Hey, Korra? How about this. In thirty seconds, we're going to open fire if you don't give us Hiroshi."

"So, like I was saying, Tahno's definitely on the take. We need to get out of here!"

Although, given that their windowless SUV is wedged tight into the narrow alley Mako crashed them into, escape is going to be difficult.

Asami's eyes move back and forth as she studies whatever she can see in the rear view mirror. She whispers, "There are three of them. Body armour. Assault rifles. And we're trapped. Uncuff me."

"Can't."

Tahno bellows, "Ten seconds, Korra!"

Asami licks her lips. "Korra, I know you've got little reason to trust me. But that's more than you have to trust _them_. I only want Amon. They don't seem to care who gets hurt. So I need you to--"

"I _can't_! I lost the key! I think it fell it under the accelerator and I can't reach it!"

Asami takes her eyes off the mirror and stares at Korra for almost a whole second. Korra can feel her cheeks heat up. In her better dreams, women have occasionally shown up who were almost as beautiful as Asami. In Korra's dreams, none of them looked at her like she was a complete idiot.

Asami turns her attention back to the mirror. "Give me your gun."

That yanks Korra's mind away from thoughts of dreams, emerald green eyes, and the scent of jasmine. "What? No! I'm not letting you shoot cops! I don't want you getting used to the idea that you can shoot cops! I'm a cop!"

Outside, Tahno chuckles. "I can hear you, Korra. But not Mako. Or Hiroshi. Are you going to tell me where they are?"

Asami whispers, "Please, Korra!"

Korra looks around frantically, trying to figure a way out that doesn't involve giving her weapon to the woman who she's theoretically arresting. Chief Beifong tends not to like that sort of thing.

Tahno sighs theatrically. "I don't think you're hearing _me_ , Korra."

What follows is the ear-splitting roar of three assault rifles fired in a narrow alleyway where the sound is only amplified by the closeness of the walls. Bullets thump into the body of the armoured SUV and hiss through the air above Korra and Asami's heads as they pass through the space where the front and rear windscreens used to be. One ricochet bounces from the alley wall back into the car, rattles around like a demented pinball and finally buries itself in the seat beside Korra, an inch from her elbow.

Korra swallows. Cramped as she is in the footwell, she isn't in a position to see what's happening behind the car, where Tahno and his squadmates are. Her right hand is free, but her arm is still recovering from Asami's joint locks. There isn't anything she can do as the bullets hammer the SUV, as the rear tires blow out, and the car begins to tip backwards. Right now, the rear seats are protecting them from Tahno's view. But if the SUV tips back far enough, or if Tahno gets bored and starts lobbing flash bangs, Korra and Asami are going to be helpless.

The gunfire abruptly ceases.

Asami looks at the smoking hole in the upholstery by Korra's elbow. She looks at Korra. She raises an eyebrow. Through the ringing in her ears, Korra thinks she can hear the clattering of empty magazines hitting the ground.

Tahno says, "Last chance, Korra! Before you die heroically in a hail of triad gunfire."

Korra meets Asami's eye. She grits her teeth, then fumbles her gun out of its holster and into Asami's waiting hand. Asami's lips begin to shape a word, but the sound of Tahno and his partners coming closer, their boots crunching on broken glass and plastic, shifts Asami's focus away from Korra. Asami grips the pistol in her right hand and braces her wrist against the headrest of the passenger seat. Her eyes stay on the rearview mirror.

Tahno says, "Any last words, Korra?"

Asami breathes in, taking a deep breath.

"No? Well, I'll make up something nice for Mako before we relieve him of Hiroshi Sato."

Asami begins to breathe out. Korra bunches her hands into useless fists. She closes her eyes, trying to prepare herself for...something. But there's nothing Korra can do and--

Bang. Bangbang. Bang.

Korra opens her eyes. Nothing much has changed that she can see from her position, but she can hear people groaning behind the car. There is no answering gunfire. Korra slowly looks at Asami.

"We'd better move," Asami says calmly. "Tahno only got hit in the vest. The other two should recover full use of their arms, but they shouldn't be an issue for us in the next few minutes."

Korra slowly nods. "Okay," she says, her voice cracking. She swallows and tries again. "Okay. You'd better go first."

Asami frowns. "This might be tricky..."

* * *

Asami crawls out onto the hood of the SUV, conscious of Korra behind her. Asami is even more conscious of the cuff on her ankle that thethers her to Korra. It makes everything much more challenging, but Asami is confident she can deal with it. It's taken years of training and preparation to reach this point, to get this close to uncovering the identity of Amon.

A pair of handcuffs won't stop Asami now.

Asami feels a tug on her ankle and stops. She rolls over onto her back and watches the detective, Korra, climb out after her. It's a more difficult manoeuvre for Korra, but she muscles her way out of the SUV in defiance of gravity and of the impediment of her cuffed wrist. She positions her butt on the hood with her back to Asami. She pulls her legs up to her chest, turns so that she's facing Asami, and scoots down the length of the hood. As Korra moves, her left hand held out at an awkward angle, Asami has to follow her, pushing herself along the hood with her elbows and one foot. 

The way they're cuffed together makes everything slow and awkward, and Asami is keenly aware of the fact that if Tahno or one of his friends recovers and starts shooting, Asami is going to be completely exposed. That is, she and Korra will _both_ be exposed, and Asami doesn't like the idea of an innocent detective getting gunned down because of Asami and her father.

A tug on her ankle snaps Asami's attention back to the here and now. She scrabbles around so that she's lying across the front of the hood. Korra drops her legs down onto the concrete and hunkers down so that her shoulders level with the top of the hood. Korra's head is close to Asami's. Korra turns her head and they lock eyes.

Asami freezes when those eyes bore into hers, just like she did the first time their eyes met, less than ten minutes, one fist fight, and one gun fight ago. Korra's eyes are very large and startlingly blue, a part of Asami's mind she hasn't listened to in a long time observes suddenly. In spite of everything that's been thrown at her today, in spite of the fact that Asami is still holding Korra's gun, Korra offers Asami a sheepish smile.

Asami _means_ to ask Korra what the next part of their escape plan is, because walking together is going to be impossible and Asami's bike is on the wrong side of the SUV, but instead she asks, "Why _do_ you smell like smoke?"

Korra's eyes widen, which allows Asami to observe the little gold flecks in her irises. Korra's lopsided smile widens, too. "You don't like my perfume?"

"I...think you should ask for a refund from the manufacturer." _What_ is Asami _doing_ and which part of her brain decided to allow her mouth to smile at Korra? Korra is in the way! Korra is trying to stop Asami getting revenge! Asami needs to get things moving, she needs to take charge of the situation. But instead she just lies there and asks, "It's not perfume. What is it really?"

Korra sighs. She's close enough for Asami to feel Korra's breath on her cheek and to smell mint on her breath. "There was a...flamethrower incident this morning. And then an exploding toy factory."

"You blew up a toy factory?"

"It was a triad front! And the flamethrower guy clearly had _no_ training in the safe handling of propane! Pretty much definitely almost not completely my fault."

"I...I'm just surprised I'm not the worst thing to happen to you today."

Korra chuckles. She has a warm, pleasant laugh. "Nah, not even close. Hey, even the exploding toy factory wasn't as bad as trying to explain to the chief why a toy factory exploded. I'd say you're an interesting change of pace. But we should, uh, probably--"

"KORRA!" screams Tahno. Asami whips her head round and there he is, at the far side of the SUV, propping himself up with one hand and trying to aim a pistol at the with the other. Asami reflexively jerks up Korra's pistol and fires. Tahno yelps when the bullet shreds his rather prominent quiff and ducks behind the SUV.

Korra snaps, "Yeah, we gotta go! Get on my shoulders!"

"What? You're not going to carry me--"

Tahno raises his pistol up over the broken windshield and fires several rounds blind, clearly not wanting to risk giving Asami another clear shot at him. While his pistol barrel is angled too far up for him to be likely to hit either Asami or Korra, getting shot at hasn't become more pleasant with repetition.

Asami rolls over the end of the hood, onto Korra's shoulders. Korra grunts, shrugs Asami into a slightly different position, then takes off running down the alley. Actually _running_ , at a very respectable pace, breathing easily, carrying Asami in her riding gear like she's nothing more inconvenient than a rucksack.

Asami tries to focus on what's behind them, ready to take a shot at Tahno if he pokes his head up again. He sends a few more bullets their way, but his shots are all aimed too high to be a danger to them. Maybe a street way, sirens blare out, signalling that reinforcements are about to arrive. But exactly who they're reinforcements _for_ is an interesting question. At least, it is for Korra. Asami is alone in all this: she knows she has no backup of any kind coming. Whether the arriving cops are honest or crooked, it's bad for Asami.

Korra doesn't seem to think it's worth the risk of trusting whoever the new arrivals might be. She turns away from the sirens, dodging into an even narrower lane between apartment buildings without slowing her pace. It's neither the most comfortable nor the most dignified way that Asami has ever travelled, but...it's kind of impressive.

At least, it is until Korra grunts, somehow _accelerates_ , and leaps off the ground. Asami gasps and tries not to panic when Korra hits something with a clang of metal and a thud which runs through Korra's body into Asami's. Korra groans with effort, and they're rising up, and...Asami looks round. Korra is hauling them up the ladder of a fire escape.

That's _very_ impressive.

Asami swallows. "Did...you just jump onto the ladder of a fire escape and pull both of us up with...with only one hand free?"

Korra grunts an affirmative.

Asami considers what she's just learned about Korra's speed, endurance, and upper body strength. She adds that to what she knows about Korra's quick wits, her ability to cope under _intense_ pressure, her courage, her marksmanship, and her fighting skills. "Okay," Asami says quietly. "Just...just checking that that's what happened."

Korra grunts again.

Asami spends the rest of the climb to the roof in silence, thinking about the woman who is carrying her, and what Asami's going to have to do to get her out of the way. How far is Asami willing to go to get what she needs? Could she live with herself if she did someone as remarkable as Korra any permanent harm?

For the first time in a long time, Asami wonders if trying to get to Amon might be a bigger challenge than she can handle.

* * *

Tahno pushes himself away from the SUV, wincing at the pain in his ribs. His vest stopped two bullets, but while he's still breathing, it's with the added complication of bruised ribs. He takes a second to massage his chest, then fishes a tactical mirror from his utility harness. Tahno checks his hair in the tiny mirror. He grinds his teeth at the sight of his mangled quiff. "I'm going to make them pay. Both of them."

Next he checks on Wolf and Bates. Both of his friends have been shot through the shoulder, damaging their brachial plexus, making their right arms effectively useless until they get surgery. Both men are conscious, but they're not going to be any further use in the hunt today.

Tahno stiffens when he hears sirens. Time to get moving. He jogs back up the alley to his car, leaving Wolf and Bates to get picked up by the incoming RCPD units. It might be that some or all of them will be in Amon's pay, but Tahno doesn't want to take any risks. That's why the first thing he does when he gets into his car is radio for backup.

"Korra and Mako have gone rogue. They've kidnapped Hiroshi Sato, presumably with the intention of handing him over to Amon. They opened fire on me and my men. Wolf and Bates are both injured and in need of assistance. I'm going in pursuit of the suspects now."

Tahno switches his radio off after that. No need for anyone to know about the black-haired woman who Korra ran off with. Tahno will settle things with her personally.

But not without backup. Tahno's angry, not stupid. He takes the special phone from his pocket and dials the only number in memory. Someone answers before the first ring is finished. Tahno quickly says, "Yeah, it's me. Things are...complicated. But I'm close. Send in your crew and I'll have Hiroshi Sato for you inside an hour."

The person on the other side of the line says a single word and hangs up. Tahno pockets the phone, failing to suppress a shiver. He catches sight of his ruined hair in the rear view mirror and clenches his teeth. He takes the shotgun from the rack by his knee and smiles grimly. "Payback's coming, Korra."

* * *

From her position sprawled on her side on the roof of the apartment building, Korra watches Asami produce a folding knife from a pocket and transform an old, rusty piece of wire that must have come from a TV set older than Korra is and a piece of plastic guttering into a hook and torsion wrench. It takes Asami less than a minute to open the cuff around her ankle, a minute Korra spends trying to look less winded than she is while trying to recover from how badly winded she is. 

Asami is a slim woman, but she's tall and she's obviously well equipped with lean muscle. Even with that and her riding gear, Asami isn't as heavy as Mako--who Korra has carried home a few times after a night at the bar--but climbing with only one free hand was an effort. Korra is grateful for a minute to rest and to think.

Since two would be even better, and since she doesn't want to wander around with her cuffs on her wrist, Korra holds up her hand when Asami frees her ankle. Asami hesitates for a second, but then she bends over Korra's wrist and goes to work. A breeze keeps trying to fill Asami's face with her hair. After the third time she has to twist her head and blow some out of her mouth, Korra reaches out and pushes the thick, black hair behind Asami's ear and holds it in place. Asami's hair, it turns out, is every bit as beautiful and luxurious to the touch as it is to Korra's sense of smell.

For a second or two after Korra touches her, Asami seems to freeze in place. At length she resumes picking the lock of the cuff on Korra's wrist. "Thank you," she says softly.

Korra isn't sure what to say to someone who has saved her life several times and endangered it a couple, and who could very easily be about to resume the hostilities that Tahno's interruption broke off. She isn't in any way prepared to touch on that subject, not when her sense of touch is so utterly focused on--consumed by--the silky feeling of Asami's hair against her hand, and the smooth, warm feeling of Asami's skin against the pads of her fingers.

So Korra just says, "You're welcome." Her voice is every bit as quiet as Asami's.

After a moment whose nature is as ephemeral as it is indescribable passes, Asami asks, "What happens when this cuff comes off?"

"That...depends."

A pair of intense green eyes focus on Korra. "On what?"

Korra looks away. "On..." Korra blinks. "Uh...on that helicopter, maybe?"

Asami whips her head round. They both watch as a helicopter swoops in from the south, slowing and finally hovering over the area where Mako crashed the SUV. The helicopter is black, unmarked, neither RCPD issue nor of a standard commercial design. The helicopter's side doors are open, and moments after it begins to hover, two black ropes are lowered, one from either side. Four heavily armed men in tactical gear slide down the ropes, into the alley.

Korra exchanges a look with Asami. Asami asks, "Are they more of Amon's people?"

"I think they're mercs. But Amon'll be paying them."

"They aren't coming for us, though. Are they?"

Korra shakes her head. "Nope. They're going after my partner."

"You mean they're going after my father."

"...yeah. And my partner will put himself between them and him. Which means I have to go after the mercs before that can happen."

Asami frowns. She looks down, her hands move, and with a _click_ , Korra's wrist is free. Asami locks eyes with Korra. "I'm going too. With you or through you."

There are four professional killers with automatic weapons supported by a helicopter and--most likely--the very corrupt Tahno. Korra is tired, battered, has exactly four bullets in her gun, which she doesn't even have because it's tucked into Asami's belt, and she has Asami, who is the most exceptionally capable person Korra has ever met and Korra cannot in any way afford to trust.

No matter how much she wants to. Among other things, things which have no place in Korra's mind in the immediate context but which seem to have no intention of leaving her mind. Especially not when the breeze keeps filling Korra's nose with the scent of jasmine, and that scent keeps filling Korra's belly with warmth.

The thing is though, that the odds of Korra saving Mako and Hiroshi Sato aren't good without Asami's help. But as soon as Asami gets close to Hiroshi, she'll turn on Korra and Mako, and Korra thinks the odds of coming through _that_ are worse.

Korra closes her fist around the memory of Asami's hair against her skin. She grins. "With me sounds good. Okay. Truce for now. Let's go get the bad guys."

Asami smiles. She stands up and offers Korra her hand. "Let's."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm having too much fun with this. Expect at least one more part, maybe two, though probably after the rest of Korrasami month is over. Life has been busy this holiday season, soooo...we'll see what I can manage when!
> 
> Thanks for reading! Please do leave a comment: they help a lot.


	3. Chapter 3

Asami helps Korra to her feet, releasing her hand and taking a step back as soon as Korra has found her balance. It occurs to Asami a moment too late that she just passed up an opportunity to take Korra off guard, to try to incapacitate her with minimal injury. Asami wonders why she didn't at least consider it, and tries to ignore the tingles in her palm that started the moment she made contact with Korra's skin.

Clearing her throat, Asami turns to watch the helicopter climb up into the sky and head north, doubtless looking for her father. Asami touches the gun in her belt and sighs. She takes the weapon and offers it to Korra. "Here. I still have a stun gun and a baton."

Korra raises her eyebrows but she accepts, quickly checking her load before holstering the pistol. "I've only got four rounds and those are kinda close range weapons, Asami. We're going to need to be careful."

"What we need is a plan, Korra." Asami frowns, considering their options. She hates the thought of wasting more time, but...Asami unzips the pocket on her left thigh and takes her phone out. She pulls up a map of the area. "Okay, here we go! There's a store we need to visit one street over. I can gear up and we can work out a plan from there."

"Gear up?" Korra raises her eyebrows. "Uh, with what?"

Asami unzips the large pocket on her right thigh and lets Korra see the various arrowheads nestled in protective sheathes inside it.

Korra whistles. "Okay, wow! You came prepared."

"Always," Asami says, smirking as she zips her pocket closed. She frowns when she realises that she's smirking, and abruptly turns away, striding across the roof in the direction of the store. "Come on."

Korra hurries after her. "Are those arrows...I mean, _safe_ is a dumb word, but you were shooting through engine blocks and--"

"I'm out of bodkins. I have a variety of non-lethal arrowheads, too. I don't intend to kill anyone other than Amon. I'll be aiming to incapacitate only."

"That'd be more reassuring if you didn't say that in your robot voice."

Asami is forced to pause at the roof's edge. She feels blood rushing to her face and tries to lock down her anger. She'll need it later. "I'm not a...I'm stating facts, Korra."

"Asami, fights don't respect facts outside of physics and biology." Korra shrugs. "Intentions are hard to keep hold of in a fight. 'Non-lethal' weapons don't really exist. Anything can be lethal in the wrong circumstances."

"This coming from the woman who blew up a toy factory already today?"

"Triad front! It was a...and _I_ didn't blow up that factory! That was on the flamethrower guy! Well, _and_ whoever stored all that propane. But, uh..." Korra spreads her hands. "It kinda proves my point. I didn't intend to blow anything up this morning, but an arrest turned into a chase and that turned into explosions. What I'm trying to say--"

Asami raises a hand. "You blew up _multiple_ things this morning?"

"Uh..." Korra flushes and rubs at the back of her neck. "That's not important right now! I just mean, if we're going to fight these mercs--"

"I don't intend to fight them, Korra." Asami smirks, trying to keep the expression cold this time. "Fighting implies giving them a chance to hit back. Are you done wasting our time?"

Korra winces. "Sure. I...yeah, let's go."

Asami stalks the edge of the roof until she finds a drainpipe. She lowers herself from the edge of the roof, finds a foothold, transfers her grip from the roof to the pipe and begins to climb down. She pauses and looks up when Korra's shadow falls on her. Korra is crouched down, staring at her, a strange expression on her face.

"Something wrong?" Asami asks, aware of a tightening in her stomach caused by Korra's scrutiny. She decides to ignore it.

Korra chuckles, shaking her head. "No, I'm good. It's just...everything you do looks so effortless. You could tell me you were a professional drainpipe climber and I'd believe you. Where did you _learn_ all this stuff?"

"Oh." Asami can't help another smirk. "Boarding school, mostly." 

She flips her hair out of her face, because it was threatening to impede her vision and not because she derives any enjoyment from the all the different emotions flitting across Korra's face, or the way her cheeks redden, or the way she smiles...

Asami scolds herself for losing focus. She looks away, getting back to the climb.

* * *

Mako keeps a hold Hiroshi Sato's upper arm as he guides them quickly through the alleys and side streets of Republic City. Partly it's to help keep Hiroshi moving, partly it's to keep him from trying to run, but mostly it's because Mako needs to feel like he has _some_ kind of grip on this situation.

Especially since he heard all those gunshots after he _abandoned_ his partner.

Mako halts at the mouth of an alley, peering out at the relatively quiet and peaceful street ahead of them. It looks safe enough. But they're a long way from the safe house and Mako has neither his weapon nor backup.

Hiroshi clears his throat. "Perhaps, if you uncuff me, it would easier to blend in?"

"Right. Great plan." Mako snorts. He shrugs out of his jacket and drapes it over Hiroshi's hands, hiding the cuffs. "You can't influence _me_ , Mr Sato. Not anymore!"

Hiroshi blinks. "I...see. In that case, what is our next move, detective? Assuming I'm still permitted to ask questions?"

"What's next?" Mako sighs. "I know a place not far from here where we can regroup and get a new vehicle. I'm not going to hold your arm, but don't try to run!"

"Where would I run?" Hiroshi asks wearily. "You represent my only hope of surviving Amon. Amon...and my own daughter."

"Well, next time think twice before you decide to become a criminal mastermind," Mako snaps. He reddens slightly under Hiroshi's blank stare. It...maybe wasn't his best one liner, but he's worried about Korra. Mako checks the street again then nods at Hiroshi. "Just...just walk beside me and keep me between you and the road. Okay? It isn't far."

He sets off and Hiroshi keeps pace with him. It seems that, for now at least, Mako doesn't need to worry about Hiroshi. Which means that all he has to worry about is if Korra is alive, if Asami is tracking them still, whether corrupt cops or Amon's thugs will get to Mako first and whether or not Bolin will be home when Mako uses his spare key to stash the most wanted man in the city in his brother's apartment.

Mako wipes some sweat off his brow and picks up the pace.

He tries to hold on to the hope that Korra somehow dealt with Asami and will catch up with him before the rest of city does.

* * *

Korra should probably make some kind of protest when Asami leads them briskly past the store and into the alley behind it. She should _definitely_ protest when Asami picks the lock on the back door and leads them confidently into a back room full of rows of shelves and storage bins overflowing with stock. But Korra doesn't protest, because for one thing, she needs Asami's help.

And for another...there's something mesmerising in Asami Sato. There's something about her that makes Korra eager to follow her, to get closer to her, to get _close_ to her. There's something in the way she moves, the way she speaks, and her _hair_! It shouldn't look that good after she's been riding with it in a helmet! It shouldn't be possible that Asami can make Korra lose her train of thought with a single flip of--

Asami stops at a storage bin and turns to Korra. She flips her hair, sending her thick locks floating out around her like a black halo of impossibly fragrant softness. Korra is distracted, of course, but not so distracted as to miss the fleeting suggestion of a smirk on Asami's lips. Asami gestures at the bin, which is full of...

"Arrows?" Korra asks, wincing as soon as she voices the question. The bin is full of sticks with groups of feathers on the end of them. There isn't any doubt as to what they are.

Asami plucks one from the bin and shows Korra that no arrowhead has been attached yet. She unzips the pocket on the thigh of her riding gear and places various arrowheads on a shelf beside the bin. "Here. Could you screw these into place while I grab a few things? We should hurry, in case someone comes back here."

"Uh...sure. Can do!" Korra snatches an arrow, grabs an arrowhead, and immediately drops it, yelping, when she cuts her finger on the razor sharp edge. Asami stares at her, her perfect eyebrows raised. "Can do much more carefully," Korra mumbles around her injured finger, which she automatically puts in her mouth before realising that sucking her cut might look weird to Asami.

Asami doesn't quite sigh. "I'll be back when I've found a bow, a quiver, and a band aid."

Korra turns her attention to the bin full of arrows, keenly aware of the air flowing around her very warm ears. "Stupid arrows," she mutters sullenly, "stop trying to make me look bad!"

* * *

"This looks bad, I know," Tahno says to the leader of the mercs who have just swept the alley and come up Korra-less. "No sign of Hiroshi and this place is going to be crawling with cops soon. But Korra can't have got far. Mako and Hiroshi, either. I can keep the rest of the force off your backs while you search."

The merc, a cold-eyed woman named P'li, grunts.

Tahno tries to ignore the sweat rolling down his brow. "Yes, I know Hiroshi is the priority! But Korra will lead us right to him! And Korra knows I'm on Amon's payroll! We _have_ to put her down!"

P'li narrows her eyes. She's taller than Tahno, and even under the assault rifle, tactical gear and body armour, she's heavily muscled and perfectly balanced to attack. Her thumb is hooked into her belt. Next to a very large knife. 

Tahno shakes his head frantically. "You know I'm not a rat! But it's safer all round if we deal with Korra now! Her and whoever it was who took out Amon's trucks and my team!"

P'li tilts her head.

Tahno clears his throat. "I don't know. I didn't get a good look at her. But she's no friend of Amon's and she's _dangerous_. You can see what she did to my hair!"

P'li raises an eyebrow.

Tahno waves a hand. "Right, sure! And how she took down my team! She's a dead shot, and Korra...Korra's a _maniac_ when she really cuts loose. Trust me, she's best dealt with now. See, this is about, ah, securing our flanks! _And_ giving us the best chance of getting to Hiroshi."

P'li frowns. She grunts, then gestures to her team. They fan out, weapons ready, and begin stalking the alley Korra ran down.

Tahno blows out a breath, some of the tension easing out of him. "Okay. Good!"

P'li slowly smiles at him.

"Right," Tahno says, swallowing. "I'll be coming with you, then!"

He hefts his shotgun and moves out ahead of P'li. As nervous as it makes him to have the huge woman ghosting along behind him, he soon finds a grim smile on his face.

"I'm coming for you, Korra! You're not walking away from this one!"

* * *

After she's gathered all the things she needs, Asami goes back to the shelf where she left Korra. Korra is working quickly and quietly and she already has half of Asami's arrowheads attached. Apparently without injuring herself further, which is good. Asami is alarmed to find that she has to bite back a smile at the thought of how flustered Korra can get.

She clears her throat. "How's the finger?"

Korra snorts, but she half turns and offers Asami a sheepish smile. "I'll live."

"Here," Asami says, putting the bow and quiver she found aside. She holds up the band aid she liberated from a First Aid Kit, fully intending to pass it to Korra. Instead she finds herself saying, "Let me see it."

Korra hesitates, but she extends her hand, showing Asami her injured finger. It's a small cut, and thankfully not too deep, but Korra's work with the arrows has kept it open. Blood slowly wells to the surface of her skin. In spite of the trivial nature of the wound, Asami's heart clenches. This is her fault, after all. Asami doesn't generally consider herself to be impulsive, but impulse makes her take Korra's hand in both of hers. Impulse makes remove the band aid from its packaging without releasing Korra's warm hand, and impulse makes her apply it to Korra's cut, smoothing it carefully over finger.

It isn't impulse that makes Asami take so much care over the simple task, or impulse that makes her keep hold of Korra's hand for a second longer than necessary. It's something deeper, a feeling as undeniable as it is _pointless_ in the circumstances. It's a feeling Asami thinks she can see reflected in the surface of the wide blue lakes that are Korra's eyes.

Asami abruptly drops Korra's hand. She snatches up an arrow and begins fitting a shock head to it. "We need to hurry."

"Uh, yeah." Korra's voice sounds hoarse. She clears her throat. "Thanks."

Asami sighs. "You're welcome."

They're almost finished with the arrows when Korra clears her throat again. "You don't have to go through with this, Asami. You haven't committed any crimes yet." 

Asami pauses. She raises an eyebrow at Korra, who immediately reddens.

"Uh, well, I mean you haven't committed any _serious_ crimes. Well, no, okay, actually you have. A whole bunch, really. Some of them I'll have to look up when I write the report..."

Asami shakes her head, barely managing to avoid a smile again. "Is there a point here, Korra?"

"Yeah...I don't need to write that report if you turn back, Asami. You saved my life. You're helping to save my partner. And I promise, we _will_ bring Amon down."

Asami hisses out a breath. "That's not something you can promise, Korra. Not in Republic City."

Korra's eyes harden. "I already did. A long time ago. And I'm getting close to being able to actually _keep_ it. I will _not_ let Amon get away with his crimes, Asami. Believe me."

And Asami shivers, because she does. There's a determination in Korra that Asami recognises, a drive that all of Korra's good humour have masked up until now. Asami wonders how many people have underestimated Korra, been put at ease by her charm, her smile, or her quite astonishing beauty, only to realise too late how driven and determined Korra is. Asami can't afford to make the same mistake.

It's at about the same time that Asami vows not to lower her guard any further around Korra that she becomes aware of the fact that she considers Korra to be astonishingly beautiful. Asami turns away in confusion, snatching up the quiver. She begins strapping it to her back. "That isn't good enough for me, Korra."

It isn't, Asami tells herself, though she feels less certain of that than she did half an hour ago.

Behind her, Korra sighs. "Asami, I...don't know what's making you do this exactly. But I think I understand. Maybe a little? I moved here when I was younger, because...well, because I got in trouble. Fighting, mostly. So my grandad Aang took me in and tried to straighten me out. He was a cop. Best in the city. And..."

Asami can already sense the edges of a familiar story, something that makes her wary. Still, she's curious, too, so when she's finished tightening the strap of her quiver and the silence seems likely to endure without her intervention, Asami turns to find Korra staring into the past. Softly Asami says, "What happened?"

With a start, Korra returns from wherever her memories took her. "Oh, uh...Amon was just a punk kid back then. Grandad...Aang and his partner caught Amon playing lookout for a crew pulling a robbery. Aang told him to get out of there. Amon pretended to go...then he snuck back and shot Aang in the back. The robbers got away, Amon began to become a legend in the underworld, and I lost my grandad."

Asami winces. "I'm sorry."

"I was...angry after that. Everything he'd tried to teach me, I gave up on all of it. Because what was the point? It didn't do _him_ any good, did it?" Korra bows her head. "I was sixteen. I started drinking, fighting...I ended up in a cell, after a _very_ bad night. I was sitting there, bruised and queasy and miserable, and it was like I suddenly heard Aang's voice."

Korra smiles, but her eyes remain downcast.

"What did he say?"

"Aang? Probably nothing! But what I _heard_ was: 'Your anger has put you in a cage. It'll keep you there the rest of your life, if you let it.'" Korra pauses , then she raises her head and grins. "And then he said: 'And Korra, for Spirits' sake! It wouldn't kill you you to water the plants or do the dishes once in a while.'"

Asami shakes her head, unable to resist a smile of her own. "Seriously?"

"That's what I heard his voice say, I swear!"

Asami's smile fades. "And that was enough for you?"

"Nah. But it was a _start_ , Asami. My grandma Katara helped me get through the next few years. I joined the police force eventually, and I swore I'd bring Amon down. The right way. The way Aang would have done it. It's not like my anger went away, though. It's just..." Korra hesitates, then gently places her hand over the back of Asami's. "I know not to trust anger. It can help you in the moment, but if you let it control you...it never takes you anywhere good."

Asami looks at Korra's hand where it rests on hers. She feels something swelling inside her, a feeling she almost doesn't recognise. It's a warm feeling, and it threatens to begin thawing the ice inside her. But Asami _needs_ that ice. She needs to be cold for this work, so she pulls her hand away. She snatches up the arrows Korra has prepared for her and thrusts them into the quiver. 

In a clipped, precise tone, Asami says, "Amon killed my mother when I was six. He shot her in front of me, Korra. He wore a mask, but I could see his _smile_. And my father..." Asami swallows. "My _father_ went into business with him years later, even though he knew what Amon had done. When I found out, I knew that my anger would kill me or it would kill Amon. That's all I know, Korra. There is nothing else for me, until Amon is dead."

"Oh, Asami..."

For a second, Asami worries that Korra might touch her again. Asami isn't sure she could handle that, not with the way that Korra is looking at her with those wide blue eyes, too. Asami picks up her new bow and walks stiffly to the exit. "We've wasted enough time. Let's do this."

Korra moves up to Asami's side, pistol ready, her expression almost blank. "Okay, Asami. I've got your back."

Asami risks a look at Korra's face. She clearly means what she says. Asami looks away, but not before she feels fresh cracks spreading through the ice in her core.

Luckily, before she gets much chance to worry about what Korra is doing to her, Asami steps out into in time to see one of the mercenaries heading across the mouth of the alley. Before Asami can retreat or warn Korra, the mercenary turns his head and spots her.

He swings round, tracking his rifle towards Asami's chest, and once again, the sounds of the city are shattered by gunfire.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Gosh, look at me, I got something else I've been working on for ages finished! Who knows, if I keep this up, I might even get caught up with my to do list! *gasp*
> 
> I hope you enjoy the continuing adventures of Korra and Asami in this AU and I promise that there will be lots of action and at least one explosion in the remaining installments! Just in case you were worried about the lack of that sort of thing in this one...
> 
> As a wise person once said, sometimes you have to exposition before you can explosion.
> 
> Thanks for reading, folks! :)

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading, folks!
> 
> Sometimes, when all your other ideas are falling flat, you've just gotta go for the classics. And the explosions....


End file.
